A bathing preparation, which generally comprises a mixture of inorganic salts such as mirabilite, borax, sulfur, sodium chloride and carbonates, together with various additives (for example, perfume, colorant, vegetable extract, organic acid etc.), would impart a preferable odor or color to bath water. Such a preparation would also accelerate the blood circulation by appropriately stimulating the skin to relieve fatigue and to promote metabolism. Among these bathing preparations, bubbling preparations comprising one or more carbonates, together with organic acids, would form bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in bath water thereby to give additional beneficial effects that enhance relaxation and refreshment provided by bathing.
In order to further improve the above-mentioned effects, a perfume is usually added to a bathing preparation. However, a problem encountered when using a highly volatile perfume is that the perfume is quickly vaporized, due to, e.g., the bubbling of carbon dioxide gas from the carbonates, which removes the beneficial effect of using the perfume.
Attempt to solve this problem include proposals in JP-A-62-223111 and JP-B-52-21573 to encapsulate, or include in a clathrate a perfume so as to prevent the vaporization of the perfume and achieve a sustained odor. (The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application" while the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication".) However encapsulation or clathrate inclusion requires a troublesome procedure and additional cost, which makes these methods economically disadvantageous. In addition to these economical disadvantages, it is difficult to form tablets of a bathing preparation comprising an encapsulated perfume.